


Moving On

by KatMotif



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Enemies to Friends, Forgiving Yamcha, Gen, Grief/Mourning, I just felt like writing this because I feel like eventually these two learn to be friends okay, I think Vegeta thinks Yamcha's okay, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Moving On, Past Relationship(s), Post-Break Up, Post-Cell Games Saga, Trying to be friends with your ex's current boyfriend, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Untrusting but Willing to Talk Vegeta, Yamcha gets over Bulma, but they're trying okay, idc what Super says, not the best of friends, they're friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 09:17:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20486507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatMotif/pseuds/KatMotif
Summary: After the Cell Games and the loss of Goku, Yamcha and Vegeta have a conversation. There are things that need to be settled once and for all. But grief makes one weary of fighting, and they both have a lot of it to cope with. So what else to do about unresolved tension than to talk about it? Even if one party isn't used to that sort of thing.





	Moving On

It was a cloudy day, an air of dread hanging over Yamcha as he walked into Capsule Corp that afternoon. The last time he’d been here, just a few months prior, had been right after the Cell games, after Goku’s funeral, as the Trunks from that desolate future left them for the last time. As he approached he tensed as there  _ he _ was, standing in the doorway, Vegeta glowered at him. It was half-hearted and hollow, and the dark circles beneath his eyes betrayed any sense of spite.

Grief was a bitch. It affected him too, his once styled hair left down and a bit disheveled, and he too showed signs of unrest, his eyes still puffy and bloodshot from his mourning his old friend the night before. Despite wearing clean clothes and having showered he was sure he could still smell the faintest hint of alcohol on his person.

“Uh...hey. Vegeta. Bulma around?” Yamcha asked, a bit guarded in tone. He wasn’t sure how the Saiyan would react to his presence. Before things ended between him and Bulma, they’d ended up being at least somewhat cordial to each other. Before Cell, they’d been tense around each other. Then again, he’d long since let go of his ill will towards any of them, Vegeta or Bulma. The kid he’d once resented for existing, proof that he couldn’t hang on to the one constant in his life other than Puar, was a great kid that he adored, and had even started calling him ‘Uncle’.

“She’s busy. What do you want?” Vegeta’s voice was hollow, the attempt at a threatening tone betrayed by the sheer exhaustion that he knew they both felt. Yamcha frowned slightly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his old jeans. 

“Just wanted to ask her about something. Mechanical stuff, really.” he murmured. Vegeta’s glare intensified for a blink, but he seemed to lack the energy to start a fight. Yamcha knew full well why he’d want to pick a fight--his history with Bulma, more than a decade, was difficult to ignore. They were just starting to be on good terms with each other again, falling into the familiar friendship pattern they’d had between their on-and-off relationship. The friendship that always worked out much better for them, and yet they’d always tried again.

At least until Vegeta came into the picture. Years ago, Yamcha would have said he ruined everything, but from the outside he could now see clearly how unhealthy things had been between them, especially towards the end. How things would have been better if they’d ended things before they’d both been hurt by the misdeeds they’d done to each other. Vegeta was stuck in the middle of it, undoubtedly protective of Bulma considering things.

Yamcha was tired of the tension. Losing a long time friend, hell, someone who’d been like a little brother to him like Goku, had taken its toll on him, on all of them. He wanted this peace to be for all of them, even for someone like Vegeta. So, putting one step forward, he extended a metaphorical olive branch to the once proud warrior.

“Well, I guess...we could just sit somewhere and talk?” Yamcha offered. Vegeta’s expression softened briefly, his eyebrow quirking upwards at him.

“What could I possibly want to talk about with  _ you? _ ” there was some venom to the Saiyan’s tone, but nowhere near at his worst, nowhere near as threatening as it’d once been. He could kill Yamcha easily. He knew that, they both did.

“Whatever you want to. But it’s better than us glaring at each other like this.” Yamcha spoke. He had goosebumps and his hair stood on end, and he swallowed hard. He was in no shape to fight Vegeta (then again it didn’t look like Vegeta had been training, at least not nearly as diligently as he once did) but he kept his guard up just in case.

Then Vegeta lowered his, much to his surprise. His shoulders relaxed and he’d even stopped crossing his arms so tightly at him. His face even softened a tad. 

“Fine.”

___________________________________________________

They say by the fountain in the main hall, slumped on the floor. Both of them looked relatively tired but at least they were able to relax at least somewhat. They didn’t fully trust each other, tension still evident in their body language, but at least they were attempting to reach some ground, sitting together like this, the small animals chasing around them in the quiet.

“I want to know something, Yamcha.” Vegeta started, his voice breaking the silence that had formed since they’d begun sitting.

“Shoot.” Yamcha blurted.

“...do you still feel the same way about Bulma as you once did?” the saiyan asked flatly. Yamcha looked at his knees, placing a hand on one, the one on his bad leg. His brows furrowed, as if in thought, and he sighed.

“No. She’s one of my closest friends, even after it’s all said and done. But I have no intention of getting back into anything romantic with her. We should have ended things long before we actually did and we ended up hurting each other more because we were both too fucking stubborn to just let it go when we should have.” Yamcha’s voice was calm, no hint of the bitterness he’d felt before. 

“Good.” Vegeta spat. Yamcha looked back at him, and saw a more relaxed version of the man who had once, indirectly, been responsible for his death (well, actually, it was more that other Saiyan’s fault).

“Why? Would you kill me if I said yes?” Yamcha bantered half-heartedly with a slight tug of a smile on his face.

“Hmph.” Vegeta said, rolling his eyes. There was another moment of silence between the two of them, the tension slowly fading between them. Yamcha still kept his guard up, not fully trusting, knowing the unpredictability Vegeta was capable of. And yet, his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth with a question.

“How about you?” he finally asked, closing his eyes and waiting for whatever response came. None did for a moment, and eventually Yamcha opened an eye to see Vegeta looking away from him. Was there a blush on his face? 

_ I would tease him if he were literally anyone else in the universe. _

“What do you mean by that?” Vegeta finally asked, a hint of caution in his voice.

“Do you love Bulma?” Yamcha reiterated, looking dead on at Vegeta. Vegeta looked back at him, a glare evident but only half-meant.

“I’m...still figuring this all out, to tell you the truth. But...I do want to stay by her side and understand all of this better.” he admitted. There was a scoff as he turned his head away. Yamcha smiled a bit and looked straight ahead, noticing Scratch cleaning himself on a lawn chair.

“You’ll figure it out. When it’s right, it just kind of puts itself into place.” he didn’t think he would find himself reassuring the Saiyan. But that’s just the kind of person Yamcha was, underneath the exterior he’d mostly put up as a front. At least that’s what he told himself, his old ego giving way to whatever he was now; truth be told he’d been so wrapped up in mourning Goku that he wasn’t sure of even that.

“I’ve been fighting for so long, I don’t know...if I can know any other kind of life. But...I have this. I have her...and my son. It feels wrong to run away after everything.” Vegeta grumbled. 

“It never fixes anything, does it?” Yamcha agreed. Another silence set in, and Vegeta shifted a bit, changing the angle he sat in. Yamcha lowered his head slightly, smiling softly.

“It’s so weird, isn’t it? Goku being gone.” he muttered, his eyes stinging tearlessly.

“...I don’t know. I haven’t been in Kakorot’s life nearly as long as you have. But...him being gone has taken a lot of my motivation from me, I must admit.” Vegeta admitted bitterly.

“Easy for you to say, you’re the closest thing he has to a rival. He left the rest of us in the dust a long time ago. Us human beings just aren’t made of the same stuff as you Saiyans.” Yamcha chuckled softly. Vegeta scoffed.

“You give up to easily. It’s probably more difficult for you humans. But...at least you lot he was friends with shows some potential.” he muttered. Yamcha looked at Vegeta with a squint.

“I’m sorry, was that just a compliment?” he jokingly inquired. He was more surprised that Vegeta actually smiled back at him, and the two shared a laugh.

“Don’t get used to it.” Vegeta added. Yamcha rolled his eyes. Another brief beat of silence.

“...you really came here to speak with me, didn’t you?” Vegeta prodded.

“It’s been bugging me. The tension. I don’t think Goku would want us to still all hate each other.” Yamcha admitted. Vegeta looked away thoughtfully, unfocused.

“Before all this I wouldn’t have cared what the hell Kakorot would have wanted.” he muttered.

“Well, look at you two getting along again.” Bulma’s voice came from the other side of the fountain, and the two men straightened out, slowly rising from the ground, dusting themselves off. Bulma’s coveralls were slightly stained with some oil and in her arms Trunks made cooing noises at them. Yamcha waved at the baby, smiling sincerely. Vegeta’s arms crossed again, returning to a gentler version of his default state.

The tension was gone, at least. Yamcha felt lighter; still a depressed ghost of himself, still mourning. But at least there was one weight off of him, and it was a little easier to breathe. Even Vegeta seemed a little less guarded, especially after Bulma nonchalantly passed their son to him to lead them inside, likely to the kitchen where they could all talk to each other.

Things were moving right along, as they should be.

**Author's Note:**

> Reading some good post-Cell Vegebul made me want to write this for some odd reason. Honestly despite what canon depicts, I prefer the idea that a) Yamcha fucking gets over Bulma, and b) he and Vegeta learn to cooperate and even become friends (or cordial at the very least). How else are they gonna get Yamcha to babysit Trunks am I right?
> 
> Speaking of Vegebul...maybe I'll write a fic in the future for them? It's not that I dislike the pairing at all, I just find that there's already so much fic out there for them that I don't know what I could do that would be different/stand out from the crowd, you know? I tend to stick to less popular ships when it comes to writing. I'd like to have a whack at it one day though. You never know.
> 
> Also it's nice to take a break from multi-chapter fics to write an unrelated one-shot I guess? Till next time. -Kat


End file.
